Good Friday/Viernes Santo

Some years ago there was a movie called “Shadowlands,” the story of the writer C.S. Lewis. Lewis, played by Anthony Hopkins, has trouble seeing suffering as part of the human condition. There is one scene especially that connects with this holy day, this Good Friday.

Lewis is confronted by his wife’s illness. She has accepted her imminent death, and wants to talk about it just when the two are sharing a beautiful afternoon together.

He does not want to ruin this privileged time with such a discussion, but she explains to him: “The pain now is connected with the happiness later; that’s the deal!”

I believe that many of us are at the side of Peter when he says to Jesus, “God forbid, Lord, that any such thing should happen to you.” To fit the Cross into our lives, we have to realize that it is “part of the deal.” To stand at the Cross this day with Christian believers all over the world, we have to see that the pain is “part of the deal.”